A new study has identified the sophisticated communication between the gut microbiota and intestinal epithelial cells that controls diurnal variations in the secretion of corticosteroids in mice. The absence of gut bacteria disrupts this communication and contributes to hypertriglyceridaemia, hyperglycaemia and insulin resistance.
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The author's work is supported in part by a grant (DK-081,879) from the NIH.
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Hussain, M. Gut microbiota modulates diurnal secretion of glucocorticoids. Nat Rev Endocrinol 9, 444–446 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2013.129
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2013.129